Changes

I was just getting used to the idea of going down to Seattle to have Natalie's heart cath and Fontan surgery. I was looking forward to my girl having pink fingernails and feet. I wanted to see her keep up with her sisters and not get winded. I was feeling good about getting this thing over with.

I didn't want to be separated this time, at least for the first part of recovery. So, we had been planning on taking the whole family to Seattle. Heidi and Jessica are old enough that they understand the gravity of the situation and have real concern for their sister. I think Natalie would be really lonely if her sisters weren't there too. We have been planning to go a few days ahead of time and have a little vacation as a family-all six of us.

Then came Monday.

Early Monday morning, I got a call from Dr. Brauner. He said that when he presented her at the surgical conference, Dr. Jones thought "he could do a cath and help her out enough that she wouldn't need the Fontan for another year." It's been three years since she's had a heart cath and probably a good two years since her last echo in Seattle where they were able to see her Pulmonary Arteries. (Dr. B can't usually find them.) Dr. B said that all the surgeons were concerned about was her weight and of course she hasn't gotten to that magical number yet. So they just wanted to do the heart cath and wait on the surgery. Ugh! I had just gotten over the shock of getting it done so soon...now we have to wait again.

I asked if they could schedule the cath any earlier because my parents were planning on being here earlier in July and could help with the older kids while we went down to Seattle for the cath. Tuesday, I was able to talk with scheduling and reschedule for July 7th, yes, next week!

So we have tickets in hand and are going to get Natalie "tuned up." I'm trying to be patient and flexible. I still remember the quote that I've taken to heart so many years in my life.

"Waiting strengthens our faith and lengthens our perspective." ~ Chuck Swindoll

...and My Heart Stopped

While I was sitting, relaxing in the early afternoon, the phone rang. It was Dr. Brauner's office. The lady on the other end said, "I know that you talked with Seattle Children's scheduling for Natalie's appointments..."

I stopped her. "Uh, I thought we were just going down there for the cath and they didn't say anything about other appointments."

"Well, that's one reason why I'm calling. Dr. Brauner has been talking with the docs down there and they would like to do the Fontan right after the cath-on August 1st."

And my heart stopped. I wasn't really prepared for this. I was thinking Fall or early winter! After all, she's not close to 33 pounds yet. All kinds of thoughts came swirling into my head. "I thought they were going to 'tune her up' to get to her Fontan weight." "Is it really time?" The lady on the phone assured me that the doctors think it's time and that Dr. B. would be presenting her to the Seattle Children's Cardiology Group soon.

I called Tim to see if he thought it would be a good time to get it done. His viewpoint has always been to "just get 'er done" so Natalie can be done and over with it and functioning with more oxygen in her blood. Tim thought he was okay with the date so I called the cardiologist office back to confirm that we were ready for the Fontan. (Ready is always relative.)

Thinking back, God must have known what He was doing when He allowed me to have such feelings of procrastination in starting our plants for the garden. I haven't had the ambition that I usually have to put things in the greenhouse or garden. I guess I'm thankful for those gutt-level feeling that you just can't put your finger on that are given to prepare you for the future.

I just came across the song Blessings by Laura Story on youtube. This is just another song that re-iterates my feelings on how God "blesses" us. Some of my greatest blessings in this life have come from pain. Check it out. Click here.

We Have a Date!

Scheduling finally called for Natalie's heart catheterization. She's scheduled for the second case on July 29th. It does seem like a long time out, but I am just thankful for a date. The huge God thing is that we will hopefully get to see our "heart friends" Joshua and his mom Leah. Joshua was scheduled for a cath in May, but came down with a fever a couple of hours before so his cath had to be rescheduled...on July 29th! God is so good. It's been a long time since Leah and I have gotten to talk and it will be so good to see her again. Joshua and Natalie haven't met each other yet, but I hope they will hit it off.

Thank you to those who have been praying. I've been at peace a little more since unloading last week. We can't do this alone...we need others to help bear our burdens.

Natalie has recovered from her cold and is back to her normal self. She is learning to tease and it's so fun to see her happy and interacting with her siblings. As we follow other children going through their Fontan surgeries, I've been introducing the facts of her next surgery coming up. When we discuss her heart, she gets this little gleam in her eyes because she knows that this part of her life is so uniquely her and no one else can take that away. (We've been struggling with sharing lately.) I have a really cute video of her talking about her heart and who fixed her heart but it's too large to upload to my blogger page. If anyone has any ideas of how to do this, I'd appreciate your help. I know it's been done before. I'm just not that in with technology.

Backing a Little Further

This is such a cute picture, I couldn't leave it out. Craig is about 17 months old here. It's funny how he likes hats. It must be a boy thing. He sees his dad with a hat and needs to have one himself.

Heidi had her first piano recital in April. She did a beautiful job playing two duets with her teacher Mrs. Sommer. You would never have know if she was nervous as she played with perfect composure.

Natalie was serenaded to sleep by the mid-afternoon concert and found herself sleeping while standing. It was adorable.

Jess, isn't the only prankster in this house. This is a favorite action picture. Jess had worked really hard to get the couch cushions all stacked up nice and neat so she could balance on top of them. She was showing me her acrobatic feat when Natalie seized the opportunity to topple the tower!

This is what happens when a little boy tries to climb on a box that wasn't created for his load limit!

Backing up a Bit

May was a really busy month for us. So I'm backing up and taking another look.

Jessie had the priviledge to be the princess that carried the crown for the Prom Queen this year. She was so cute in her little blue princess dress and did a great job. Her partner was one of her classmates from school.
Kindergarten completion happened a week before school got out. Jessie was so excited to be part of this program. She stood proud and tall. I had to chuckle when she was given the "Sense of Humor Award." She is my little jokester and loves to make people laugh. Her best friend, Brynna, is standing to her left. I call them Thing One and Thing Two (taken from the Dr. Suess books). Between the two of them, I'm not sure how they ever got any learning done. They both love to laugh and play together and were even put at a table next to each other.

Here she is getting her completion certificate from the principal, Mrs. Mckenzie.

Afterward, I had to get a picture of Jess standing next to her own life-size poster image of herself. It was so cute. She had designed it herself with her little tu-tu skirt.

We are so proud of Jessie for all the hard work and progress she made in Kindergarten. Her teacher said that she was a joy to have in class and love to learn.

Planting

Being outside can be so much fun. We planted out garden over Memorial Day weekend and the kids loved playing in the freshly tilled soil. Craig was enamored with it the most and was covered head to foot. I remember those days of digging my toes into the cool dirt on a warm Spring day. Growing up in the midwest, I grew up gardening. I guess once it gets in your blood, it's always there.
After a long winter, Craig has enjoyed exploring the outdoors. Anything with buttons to push or levers to push are quickly found. We've had to be careful that we take the key out of the 4-wheeler because he has figured out how to start it. Smart little cookie for being 18 mo. old.

Natalie had a different view of the outside world. One of the first things I heard out of her mouth, "Mom! It's a bug. Get it off!!!!" She's not fond of bugs-even though her older sisters have a facination with them. Inevitably she just stands there and screams until someone comes to get the bug off. This is her mad look. (Notice how blue she gets. She's done this ever since she was a baby. Screaming changes her color like a cameleon.)

Craig loves to climb...as mentioned many times before. Here I caught him on top of one of the wagons playing with the tongue. He was so proud of himself when I found him. This picture was taken before he got his summer haircut.